The present invention relates to traffic delineators and, in particular, to an improved barrel delineator constructed with a single wall and wherein high stress surfaces are strengthened with corrugated indentations or overlapped surfaces that are welded together during molding to form bonded pillars.
A variety of permanent mount and portable devices exist for use in cordoning off work areas and/or controlling the flow of pedestrian and automotive traffic. Road striping, signage, lights, multi-section fence barricades and concrete safety barriers are a few of the most common devices seen daily on any roadway.
Cones, barrels, folding stands and other portable devices are commonly used during short duration road repairs. One or more of these portable devices are typically distributed along a length of roadway to safely direct/re-direct traffic flow in relation to workmen, repair equipment and supply and material handling equipment and trucks. The portable devices readily stack or disassemble for storage and transport to and from the work areas.
Work area barrel-type delineators or drums are commonly used for highway construction and repair projects. Some of such devices are shown at U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,083,033; 5,201,599; 5,722,788; 5,735,632; 6,017,602; and 6,071,037.
Barrels of the type of the present invention are constructed as single walled structures from flexible plastics, such as low density polyethylene plastic. A single wall construction is more economical and provides a desired flexibility. The barrel fastens to a base that separately supports one or more sand bags or tires as ballast. Some bases are constructed of plastic. Other bases are formed from virgin or recycled rubber or are adapted to support other relatively heavy weight ballast devices.
The barrels are hollow and provide an exposed bottom opening. A bottom rim flange or rim piece of the barrel that surrounds the opening is molded to flex and lock to the ballasted base. The configuration of the barrels allows multiple barrels to be stacked or nested inside each other for transport or storage. Handles facilitate un-stacking and distribution of the barrels from a moving vehicle during deployment along a roadway.
The portability of the barrel and exposure to the normal roadway environment subjects the handle and bottom rim flange pieces to significant wear and tear due to the repeated deployment and re-deployment of the barrels as a job progresses or with each new job. A single wall construction reduces barrel cost. The barrel construction must however accommodate the practical necessity that the barrels withstand normal environmental conditions. Periodic impact and deformation from traffic and exposure to environmental conditions (e.g. UV light, wind, snow, cold etc.) particularly affect the useful life of the barrels. The barrels desirably should also exhibit resiliency and return to shape if impacted, run-over, dragged or are blown away.
Ballast devices such as sand bags, tire carcasses or relatively heavy ballast base pieces (e.g. 25 to 40 lbs) support and maintain the barrels in a stationary position through high winds and slipstream drafts that occur from traffic. The greater the speed of adjacent traffic flow or normal ambient winds, the heavier the weight required at the base.
A primary problem with a single walled barrel construction is that cracks and breaking can occur at high stress regions exposed to the most handling, wear and tear, particularly and for example the handle and bottom rim flange. Damage to the flexible bottom rim flange occurs from the frequent flexing that occurs as road crewmen mount the barrel to a ballast base piece. In cold weather the flexing can produce cracks and splits in the barrel sidewalls and base. The setup time and related cost is also frequently extended due to the foregoing difficulties. Detachment of the body of the barrel from the ballast base can also be frustrated if the rim flange is too flexible.
The present invention was developed to provide an improved and more durable single wall, barrel type delineator, although features of the invention can be adapted to other types of delineators. The barrel is molded in a blow molding operation and generally exhibits a single wall construction. In one construction, upper and lower surfaces at corners of the rim flange include corrugated indentations.
In another construction, overlapping surfaces at the handle and rim flange are strengthened with welded or bonded pillar struts. Portions of one or both of the adjoining surfaces are particularly depressed toward each other to form hollow, open-ended cavities or pillars. The depressed surfaces are bonded together at mating contact regions to define pillars or struts that span between the overlapped surfaces. It is to be appreciated a variety of alternative welding techniques can be employed to form the pillars/struts during or after molding as part of the fabrication process. One or both surfaces may also be depressed to desired depths to contact the opposite surface or may merely be broadly compressed into bonded contact. The bonded surfaces, if not initially overlapped, may also be drawn into overlapping relation during the bonding operation.
Bonding or welding can occur in one or more steps during molding or upon ejecting the barrel from the mold and either before or after cooling. Fabrication costs increase however if the bonding occurs after molding whether the barrel warm or cold since it is necessary to separately handle and manipulate the barrel to compress and bond the selected adjoining wall surfaces.